State of Missouri health, family services professionals across four departments participate in The Missouri Way management training

JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Mike Parson kicked off the sixth session of The Missouri Way advanced management training today for about 200 health and family services professionals from the departments of Health and Senior Services, Mental Health, Social Services, and the Missouri Veterans Commission within the Department of Public Safety. The intensive, three-day training will go until Wednesday, May 15.

Gov. Parson launched the first-ever The Missouri Way training in August, establishing it as an important component to the state’s management transformation. The program was created to develop leaders across the state’s 16 executive departments. It equips supervisors, managers, and department leadership with the necessary management skills to better lead change and improve services for the citizens of Missouri.

The Missouri Way session this month brings together health and family services professionals across Missouri in a collaborative environment. They not only have the opportunity to learn new management and leadership skills, but also to discuss the strategic goals established for the State of Missouri and their departments. While unique individually, the four departments’ strategic goals share the common mission of promoting the health, safety, and wellbeing of all Missourians.

“Health and family services professionals in these departments serve the critical health needs of Missourians every day in a variety of ways — supporting the Missouri Medicaid program, caring for veterans in veterans’ homes, battling the opioid epidemic, monitoring communicable diseases, and more,” said Drew Erdmann, State of Missouri Chief Operating Officer. “The growing demands on the state’s health and family services professionals require our leaders to be equipped with strong management and leadership skills.”

“Our ultimate goal is to protect the health of Missourians and keep them safe from harm,” said Dr. Randall Williams, Director of the Department of Health and Senior Services. “To provide the best service to the citizens of Missouri, we must ensure leaders at all levels have the management and leadership skills they need. The Missouri Way training helps us accomplish that.”

“The Missouri Way training offers leaders the tools and techniques necessary to support their teams in reaching their goals,” said Mark Stringer, Director of the Department of Mental Health. “Our leaders are crucial to making a positive impact on those we serve — individuals with mental illness, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities.”

“I’m thankful for our team members in Social Services for embracing The Missouri Way training this week,” said Jennifer Tidball, Deputy Director of the Department of Social Services. “We want to build the capacity of individuals, families, and communities to secure and sustain healthy, safe, and productive lives. Strong leaders are key to making this happen.”

“Veterans deserve our best every day,” said Col. Grace Link, Missouri Veterans Commission Executive Director. “The Missouri Way management training program helps our leaders be their best. I know they’ll take back what they’ve learned to their teams, which will ultimately result in stronger teams and better care for our veterans.”

The Missouri Way introduces senior leaders, managers, supervisors, and other emerging leaders to the tools and approaches of solving basic management challenges and improving their teams’ performance. The program’s first classes have included each department’s top leadership ranks. Participants are identified by department leaders.

The state is holding the training approximately every 90 days, with the goal of training 1,000 managers by the end of 2019.

The Missouri Way’s approach is practical and based upon proven principles from high-performing businesses and other government organizations. The curriculum will provide common approaches, tools, and vocabulary in areas ranging from how to manage change within an organization and redesigning business processes to customer experience and project management. The sessions involve a mix of classroom instruction with individual and group exercises.